Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-28
A TALK WITH INDIA.
LEMONS GREAT rgLkoRAPH OFFICE
AND IT'S OPERATORS.
They Are Better Of in Most Respects
Than American feleRraphsrs-
Talking at Long Range.


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The following interesting article is
taken from recent article in the Bos-
ton Globe by Ralph ID. Blumonfeld:
Visitors to London who are search
ing for new things 10 amuse them
should under no circumstances fail to
visit the telegraph department of the
general post-ofice at st. Martins lc
Grand, in CheapSide 10 is one OF the
most interesting places in London, yet
cornparatively lew Americans, and even
Europeans, ever avail themselves Of
the opportunity OF visiting the greatest
telegraph Office in the world
The place is wound round and round
with red tape, and it usually takes
from three 90 Tour days after an appli-
cation for ticket of admission has
been Gitd before reply is received.
Am lications should 20 made to @. w.
II. Patey, Assistant Postmaster-Gene-
ml. who delegates an official of the
telegraph department to show visitors
around.
Tic noise which greets ones ear on
entering the first room, or gallery, Is
peculiar. Those who have visited the
great operating room Of the Western
Union Telegraph Company at 1875
Broadway, New YORK, will readily re-
call the deafening clatter OF the intru-
ments. sounding ike musketry in q
great battle. The noise one hears in
the London Office is Of another charac-
ter. on account of the difference in APP
paratus. Ii rolls towards you like the
rumbling of distant thunder, then
swolls into an awe-inspiring roar and
settles back again into an ominous
moan.
One can scarcely believe ones eyes
st The sight. Here are hundreds upon
hundreds OF old men, young men, and
lovs. old women, young women, and
little girls, all busily engaged in the
wo,k Of transmitting, receiving, and
distributing messages. Not one of
Them is idle. On they work, never
looking up, sending and receiving as if
their life depended upon it. AS far as
the eye can reach it encounters sea
of faces. Here and there senior
clerk. or chief operator. is seen walk
ING up and down the aisles of his divi-
sion. keeping watchful eye on his
subordinates, and urging on to re-
newed efforts the weary looking check
BOYS and girls whe are inclined to lapse
into inactivity.
The operating.room Of the telegraph
department occupy the entire seventh
and eighth floors Of the immense post
Office building, and cover a superficial
area of 50, $50 square feet. They are
divided int five wings or galleries.
The Wheatstone automatic telegraph
is the principal system in vogue here.
Ihis system has lately been used, with
more or less success. in the United
States, but the old Morse style is pre-
fulcd by
AMERICAN OPERATORS
for numerous reasons. the principal one
benz that 1t requires but little tele-
crip-ic knowledge to become an ex-
pcIt = heatstone operator, which brings
dow the salaries. Yankee operators
are fhrewd J
The Englishman has perfected his
Wbeatstone system to such an extent,
however. that the immense amount of
Geographic matter could not possibly be
handled without it on the same number
of wires as are in use at present. 1t is
quite complicated system, consisting
of perforator, automatic transmltter,
receiver, and sounder. pertorator,
or puncher, is an Arrangement OF
three fiat keys of s.eel, resem-
bling piano keys. One key punches
dots. another spaces. and the
third dashes A long strip of paper
tape, about one eighth Of an inch wide,
is placed under the perforator, the ma
chinery is set in motion, and as the pa
per runs through the perforator the OPP
orator, with the aid OF two sticks OF
wood, one in each hand, punches the
code Characters through it. Clickety,
clickety. clickety, click goes the punch
with lightning rapidity, and the young
LADY with the two sticks pounding away
on the keyboard brings back wildly
to ones mind a suggestion OF Mark
Tvain's famous nightmare infliction:
Punch. fair lady, punch with care,
luBch in the presence OF the vi5i'a1rS.
Then the tape with the words punch
cd into it is run through the automatic
transmitter, which brings the matter
ont on taps again at the other end
Of the rate of ], 800 words per minute.
The Morse system, with au improve
mert on the old code signals. is also
used TO some extent, but in this Euro
peaps are lamcntably weak. Their
qreat. cumbersome instruments, which
look more like n boiler-maher's ma
chimes, do not admit of very rapid work,
and il is indeed painful for one accus-
toned to seeing the rapid and easy
workers in the United States, to watch
the English operator struggling pain
fully along with key about the size OF
lemon-squeezer, al the rate OF twenty
words per minute at the utmost. Yet
these same operators and these same
KEYS and saunders in the London Office
have transmitted and received over
25O.COO kilograms outside OF news mat
ter i'll one day. =.
There are geo sets of instruments IN
use. Some OF these comprise four dis
tinet machines, such as the Wheatstone
and quadruplex systems. All OF these
instruments ere cOnntcOeu NJ tnc
switchboard or test-box with the main
liresby" Office wire, which, If stretch
ed GU. in one continuous line would
reach from
BOSTON TO RICHMOND, VA.
This office wire is laid under the floors
of the rooms each wire is labelled OF
the switch, GARD, and it requires but a
moment to bring any one wire, II need
ed, 10 the surface. =,
4 special wing is reserved for the
news department, where all the special
DISPATCHES for the newspapers and press
associations are transmitted. over
100000 words of press matter have
been handled L. this wing In one night.
Three miles OF shelving, situated IN
The basement, are barely sufficient 70
accommodate the $4,000 cells OF bat
tery which infuse electric life into the
GOO terminal wires running IN and
out of the building.
The eptire staff Of the London Office
Numbers 2,3Gs. The day force is com
posed almost wholly of women, whil(
he men do the work at night.
The operators are taken from the
ranks OF the check clerks as they
grow older and proficient II
biography. When check clerk ha'
learned enoucl, TO take charge OF very
A a